Battle of Ugo

The Battle of Ugo (1546) was a battle of the Sengoku Jidai between the Date and the Mogami that took place in Ugo Province in present-day Akita Prefecture, Japan. Although the numerically-superior Date suffered heavy losses and nearly routed, the inspiring presence of their leader Harumune Date led to the battle turning in their favor.

Background
Yoshimori Mogami was an ambitious daimyo from Ugo Province, and in 1545 he took advantage of the internal strife within the Date clan to declare his independence from Harumune Date. After Harumune defeated his father Tanemune Date to consolidate his rule over the Date clan, he proceeded to campaign against the Mogami clan in Ugo, just to the west from his home of Mutsu Province. Leading an army of 1,048 Date troops, Harumune invaded Ugo in the summer of 1546. The Date met a Mogami army of 510 troops under Yoshimori himself at the border, and they met on the plains of Ugo.

Battle
The larger Date army formed its battle positions as the Mogami moved from the plain to a hillside, where they formed a formidable defensive position. Yoshimori supervised the defense himself, accompanied by a gathering of bodyguards on horseback. Harumune decided that Yoshimori was steadfast in his manoeuver, so he planned to attack the hill and dislodge the Mogami. The attack was feasible due to the larger amount of Date troops, but its execution was carried out poorly. The Date suffered significant losses and Harumune was nearly killed in the intense melee fighting, but he repeatedly rallied his forces while they were on the verge of collapse. His inspiring presence saved his army from defeat, and they kept on pushing against the Mogami despite their heavy losses. Eventually, the Mogami broke, and Harumune pursued Yoshimori's fleeing bodyguards. Yoshimori was cut down, and his army was destroyed as its hapless soldiers attempted to run for their lives.

Aftermath
The victory at Ugo left the leadership of the Mogami clan in the hands of Fusako Mogami, Yoshimori's wife. Albeit a costly victory, Ugo was a milestone in the history of the Date clan, as it allowed for them to conquer the Mogami without much resistance afterwards. Harumune seized the castle of Kubota in the fall of 1546, adding Ugo Province to Date territory in northern Japan.